The Final Goodbye
by skyshark
Summary: Jason says goodbye to his only remaining tie with his former life.


Sarah sighed heavily as she shut the door to her room. She could still hear her mother yelling at her from downstairs. It never stopped; she was 19 years old, and still harassed by her parents. She didn't know why she still lived with them. Most of it had to do with the fact she couldn't seem to keep a job for very long, and the money she made never really accumulated much. She regretted passing up the opportunity to go to college -- she might have actually done something with her life had she done so. But no, she was still stuck here in Omaha, on the war-torn UCAS border, seemingly forever doomed to live out her pointless life in the city she was born in.

It was dark in her room. The curtains on her only window were pulled tightly shut, and none of the cityglow could filter in. She liked it dark. Along with the near-complete absence of sound, it made for a peaceful refuge from her life, reality and family. Sarah smiled to herself. Her room was the only place nowadays that she could really be at peace.

She flipped on the light switch, and a small lamp in once corner of the little rectangular room came on. She gazed about; there was her small bed across from her, with the leopard print sheets, her little desk with her matrix deck and a lamp at the far end of the room to her right, and a small bookcase to her left. And...

She gasped. "What the...?!" she cried as she noticed someone standing there, leaning against her bookcase.

"Hello, Sarah."

Sarah's heart felt like it had leapt into her throat. She knew that voice. Unable to say anything, she took a closer look at the person. He was a little taller than she was, with a moderate build. He was wearing a black long sleeved shirt and black pants. His light brown hair was cut very short, and long sideburns marked his cheeks. She couldn't see his eyes -- he was looking at the floor.

"Jesus," she whispered, her voice quavering. "Is it you... Jason?"

He slowly lifted his head up to look at her. His narrow dark blue eyes gazed at her, boring into her soul. She almost looked away.

"Yes, it's me," he said, his voice soft and quiet. She could read no emotion in it.

"What are you doing here? How did you get in?"

He didn't answer immediately. He hardly even moved. For what seemed to Sarah like an eternity, Jason simply stared into her eyes. There was something strange, something different about the way he was looking at her. It was very uncomfortable for her, and yet she could not bring herself to turn away. _What is wrong with him?_

"It doesn't matter how I got in. I'd try to tell you, but you wouldn't understand." He sighed and ever so slightly shifted position. "You never wanted to understand."

"Jason," she said, moving slowly towards him, "you know that's not true."

"It is!" he yelled, startling her. She could see anger burning behind his eyes. "Sarah, I know it's true, and don't try to say it's not. You didn't even try to understand me. You left me because you were _afraid_ to open your mind and _understand me_!"

She stopped in her tracks. Tears were welling up in her eyes. She brushed a strand of long dark hair out of her face. _Why am I crying_? Her gaze left his face. It was then that she noticed a holster strapped to his right thigh. "Jason, why do you have a gun?"

Jason's eyes never left her face. "Another thing I shouldn't even try to explain. But I'll try anyway." He sighed, some of the anger fading. "Sarah, I can no longer live like a normal person; I can no longer live like you. The government wants me -- wants to _kill_ me. I'm not safe living in the open."

She knew where he was going. "You're a runner."

"Yes."

Sarah didn't know why, but she began to cry. Her strength left her, and she fell to her knees next to her bed. She covered her face with her hands, and tried to control her sobs. She didn't want Jason to hear her weeping, as futile an effort as that may have been. "Why, Jason? Why?!"

He hadn't moved. "You know damn well why, Sarah." The hard edge to his quiet voice had returned. "I didn't have a fucking choice. I didn't want to be expelled from society! I _had no choice_."

She cried to herself, unable to say anything. She had promised herself she wouldn't feel any more for him. She had made the choice to remove him from her life, and she wanted to stick to that. But why couldn't she do it? Why was she crying for him? He didn't matter... right?

"I came..." he drifted off. Sarah couldn't look at him, but she knew he must have been fighting something inside himself. "I came to say goodbye."

Sarah looked up at him suddenly.

"Forever," he said quietly.

There was a long silence. Sarah stared at his hard eyes, feeling the burning of her hot tears on her cheeks, barely containing the sobs. Finally, she decided to speak. "Get out. Get out of my life."

Jason's expression didn't change. "Don't worry, I will." He stood up straight. "I loved you once, Sarah. You hurt me more than I've ever been hurt before. I don't think I can ever forgive you. Keep that in mind. I hope we never meet again."

With that, Jason turned to the window, threw open the curtains and opened the window. He hopped outside. Sarah knew he was gone forever. She sat there, kneeling beside her bed, feeling the chill autumn air wash over her face, cooling her tears. _What now?_


End file.
